Peachtree City’s first annual report shows crime drop, expanded services in 2025

Peachtree City’s first consolidated annual report paints a picture of a city seeing declines in crime, expanded public safety presence in schools, and steady growth in community engagement and services across departments in 2025.

The report, presented to City Council on March 19, compiles quarterly data into a single year-end snapshot for the first time.

City Manager Justin Strickland said the new format reflects a broader effort to improve transparency and track long-term progress.

“This is our first year taking all those quarterly reports and condensing them into a total annual report,” Strickland told council.

Mayor Kim Learnard described the document as “comprehensive and very, very impressive,” noting it includes everything from emergency response times to newsletter subscriptions and infrastructure work.

Crime down, school policing expands

Among the most notable trends in the report is a continued decline in crime.

Councilman Clint Holland said his own review of the data showed a 28.7% reduction in crime, with thefts down 35.2%.

Police data in the report shows 12,195 dispatched calls in 2025, slightly down from 12,464 in 2024, with average response times of 2.3 minutes for emergency calls and 4.5 minutes for non-emergency calls.

The city also expanded its school resource officer program from three officers to eight, a significant increase highlighted during council discussion.

Fire, emergency response and training increase

Fire Rescue data shows a rise in total incidents, particularly in rescue and emergency medical calls, along with increased training hours.

Fire personnel logged 35,188 training hours in 2025, up from 28,675 the previous year, and reached more than 7,600 students through fire prevention education efforts.

Average response times remained just over six minutes for both emergency and non-emergency calls.

Workforce stability improves

The report also points to increased workforce stability within city operations.

Employee turnover dropped to 10.9% in 2025, down from 16.1% the previous year, while total staffing increased to 366 employees.

The city also reported 32 internal promotions and 2,000 hours of professional development training.

Growth in engagement and digital reach

Peachtree City also saw continued growth in how residents engage with local government.

Website visits reached more than 525,000 in 2025, while social media followers grew to more than 53,000 across platforms.

The city’s “Slice” newsletter saw significant growth, adding more than 5,000 subscribers to reach over 26,000 total.

Open records requests also increased to 452, up from 357 the previous year.

Development, infrastructure and services

Development activity remained steady, with 1,649 building permits issued and 184 new businesses recorded in 2025.

City engineering and public works crews continued infrastructure improvements, including 859 linear feet of pipe replacement and multiple completed capital projects such as bridge widening and facility upgrades.

Public works also reported removing 829 hazardous trees and completing 953 fleet vehicle repairs.

Library, recreation and tourism activity rises

Library usage increased across nearly all categories, including 166,546 visits and more than 97,000 digital downloads.

Recreation and special events remained active, with 66 events held in 2025 and more than 25,000 tickets sold at The Fred amphitheater.

Tourism indicators also showed growth, with total visitor spending reaching $47.8 million and average hotel rates rising to $138.60 per night.

Council to revisit report

Despite the positive metrics, council members said they want more time to fully digest the report before a deeper discussion.

“I didn’t have enough time to really go through them the way I wanted to,” said Councilwoman Suzanne Brown, who suggested revisiting the report at a future meeting.

Still, early reactions from council were largely positive, with members praising both the content and presentation.

The annual report is available here: https://peachtree-city.org/1490/Quarterly-Annual-Reports.